Following a Mar. 8 Shine My Crown report detailing the family of Shanquella Robinson’s frustrations with US and Mexican authorities’ inability to find a suspect over 100 days after her murder in Mexico, the Biden administration has responded to their pleas demanding justice.
Last Monday, attorneys representing the family addressed a letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken requesting that US officials take “immediate diplomatic intervention” following the death of the 25-year-old while on Mexican territory.
Robinson was pronounced dead last October while vacationing with friends at a luxury villa in Cabo. Since then, her mysterious death has made international headlines, but no one has been arrested or charged.
“Unfortunately, justice delayed is going to be justice denied in this case,” Sue-Ann Robinson one of the family’s attorneys told theGrio. “Every single day that passes, the evidence, the testimony, eyewitness recollection, those things dissipate day by day.”
Attorney Robinson (no relation to the Robinson family) further added that she along with famed civil rights attorney, Ben Crump, sent the letter to the White House and State Department to “close the gap on the administration’s ability to say … we can’t intervene because we don’t know what the ask is, adding that “writing the letter and detailing specifically what the ask is and obviously the background of the case, closes that gap for the administration to make that claim and hopefully is a flag to let them know that they need to intervene in this case.”
Since the letter was released, a State Department spokesperson said in a statement obtained by theGrio that they are “closely monitoring local authorities’ investigation. The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas and supports a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this incident.”
The publication also obtained a statement from the FBI, which said that an investigation into the North Carolina native’s death is “ongoing.”
“The FBI is working with the Department of Justice to conduct a thorough and exhaustive investigation to determine if a U.S. federal crime was committed,” the statement said.
Both the FBI and State Department declined to comment on whether they have received the family’s letter, although the family’s legal team has confirmed that the White House has received the letter.
During Thursday’s White House briefing, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the White House is closely monitoring the case and would provide information when it became available. “Our hearts go out to Ms. Robinson’s family and friends. It is devastating what occurred,” Jean Pierre said.
